There is a local guy selling this XJ6. I've wanted an early 80s XJ forever, and the bonus is he's wanting to trade an old 54 Chevy pickup project of mine towards a huge chunk of the price of the car. He says it needs fuel tank work and brake work to be driven regularly and it runs, so I'm going to go check it out Sunday.

I know you purists wont like it because it has a v8, but it was installed using a JTR kit so at least it's from a known company and not some backyard hack job. The exterior looks ok, I saw the little rust spot by the tail light and the blemish in the paint by the headlight. From what I can see, the interior looks pretty clean aside from the dash pad, and I'm sure the wood isn't the greatest but the seats look good from what I can see.

Will report back this weekend after I go check it out.

 

I don't know... I think I'd rather buy one that someone is currently driving. It already needs some work to get roadworthy. If it's been sitting for any amount of time, it probably needs a whole bunch of other things, too. (Ask me how I know!)

In my opinion, the V8 is a big plus.... but not sure if it's enough to overcome the other stuff that may be wrong with the car. Also, the rear brakes are a true pain to service.

 

Well, maybe I'll just get REALLY BIG brakes on the front and a new proportioning valve that sends all the bias to the front lol

 

Haha I wish it was that easy!! Seriously though - check out those rear brakes. If you want to service the calipers or rotors, you pretty much have to drop the entire rear suspension. There are a few guys that can painstakingly get this stuff off while it is in the car, but they are magicians and way better mechanics than me!

Right now, I have a rear brake caliper that is badly seized. When that happens, everything stops and you have to get it fixed. I am currently collecting parts to overhaul everything on the rear suspension, also known as the IRS (Independent Rear Suspension.) I'm already into it for over $1,000 in parts alone, and I haven't taken a look at any of my suspension bearings yet!

 

I'm going to ask him more in depth about the brakes and fuel system when I get there. I'm going to look under the car and see if I can see little holes in the fuel tanks. Maybe it'll just be a little gummy/cruddy and a nice cleaning will take care of it. Both tanks can't be full of holes if the car will actually run so I'll get some more info out of him before I decide anything.

I also texted my friend who's a mechanic about what he'd charge to help me drop the rear subframe and do the brakes if it is indeed the rear brakes he was talking about.

 

Ok update: Just went to look at the car tonight after class. I got out of class early and it was still light and close to his part of town so I called him up and got directions. It was dark by the time I got there but he had a good flashlight so I gave it a preliminary checkup.

The exterior was straight, but of course the paint was sunbaked. The only real rust I saw was a little surface rust at a bottom corner of the back window glass above the trunk, and a little at the base of the windshield on a corner, and then the rust pictured by the tail light. It was all surface rust and not cancerous. The body was straight though. The floor pan in the trunk has no rust, just dirt.

The interior was GORGEOUS! The rear seats were mint and still just as soft as a new car's leather, and the front seats were the same. The carpet looked brand new too. The only real splits/tears I saw in the leather was on the center console lid, perhaps where someone had their elbow on it over the years and the pressure from that along with the sun bearing down on it, had caused a circular split where you could see the foam underneath. The door skins were immaculate as well. The headliner was sagging a little, but it is an 83 model. The veneer of course was in bad shape and the dash had a couple big cracks on it above the gauges.

Now to the "not so good" or however you want to look at it.

He says the fuel tanks leak when there's more than a couple gallons of gas in either, but he says the switch over system does work. I did look underneath the car to try and see if they were holey on the bottom or whatever and I was like WOW these are in great shape! Then I looked on the other side and was like oh wait, those are the mufflers lol Anyways, when we were in the trunk I did see that on the driver side, a line coming out of the top of the fuel tank connecting to a fuel hose was covered in surface rust/corrosion on the little metal tube itself, but the one on the passenger side looked ok.

As far as the brakes, he said they work but feel spongy. He didn't know much more about it than that as far as the brakes go.

He mentioned the speedometer didn't work because it originally used an electronic sensor but they used an old style sensor on the v8 swap and the guy who did the swap never bothered to hook that up correctly. He says the headlights, taillights, and brake lights work fine but the turn signals don't work. Also, the rear passenger side door window won't go up or down.

The battery was dead, and of course dark so we didn't fire it up but he said I was welcome to come by another day when it was light and he'd have it charged up so we could drive it around the block so I could feel the trans shift and all that, but since the brakes didn't work that well, we couldn't get it out on the main road.

He told me the engine was a 305 out of an 84 Camaro, so it wasn't a 350 like he was originally told it was.

 

Hold your horses! I don't think you'll be able to see any holes in the tanks, there is a body panel that covers the bottom of each tank, you can't see anything unless the body panels are removed, and that requires removing the side bumper blades first, then the rear resonators, which requires removing the chromed tips, a big disassembly job. you need to follow the Factory Service Manual instructions step by step, doing it by guesswork will result in broken parts, it never fails.

AND, whenever working in the XJ-6 fuel system, the system must be de-pressurized, or you pay the price later when the car refuses to start.

I don't understand what is the issue with the rear brakes? the car will have working brakes or it won't. Bleeding the system is as simple as getting underneath the car and bleeding each rear caliper just like any other car on planet earth, it is not neccesary to drop the rear suspension at all to replace the pads or even the calipers for heavens sake! It can be done with patience, the car raised on a lift, and the Factory Service Manual on the other hand. (do not throw your money away on a Chilton on Haynes manual, those are a joke).

More: you could say the rear calipers are really for the Emergency Brake, the brunt of the braking is done by the two front rotors. I wouldn't worry too much about the rear calipers, a good flushing and bleeding and chances are they will be ok, the rears do not work as hard as the front brakes.

I've owned my '84 for 22 years, ask me how I know all these things. If you need a nice wood dash and vinyl cap, contact David at Everyday XJ, he'll get you one. But you also need the Factory Manual to disassemble and reassemble the dash, otherwise you will be sorry.

What you have to look for is rust and rot. Remove the front carpet mats and the foam under-pads, look at the steel floor, is it wet? does it smell like mildew and mold? rusty? Watch Out! look under the car. Look inside the trunk, remove the floor carpet, remove the spare tire compartment shelf, remove the spare tire, is it rusty? wet? Look at the valance panel under the rear bumper where the muffler tips come out, is it rusted out? WATCH OUT!
if you see too much rust, walk away from the car. Good luck.

 

I'll check it out more in depth in the light when I can see the dog **** piles that are in his back yard lol

The car has been sitting a little while as I think his brother kinda bailed on helping him work on it (labor and financially) so he lost interest in it. He lives in a very nice neighborhood so he's not some scummy crackhead living in the ghetto, he just has too many projects so I can understand him losing interest when he has a badass 67 Cougar shell and nice Trans Am shell he could work on instead. Anyways, even though it's been sitting a while, the interior didn't smell musty or anything. It smelled pretty clean and fresh actually but I am going to check a little more diligently when it's light out.

The brakes I'm not too worried about, and the fuel tanks not really either, as long as they're not full of holes. It'd be a project I could work on as I have a daily driver. It'll just give me something to tinker with bleeding the brakes and putting new pads up front one weekend, then a few weeks later have my mechanic friend put on all new front ball joints and tie rod ends and all that stuff if it looks bad. Then another weekend clean up the wheels really well. Then another weekend tune up the motor with new plugs and wires, oil change, etc. Just stuff I can work on while I enjoy it too. So if I have to take the rear bumper off and remove the muffler, that's not really a big deal to me. I'd just prefer not to have to replace them if I could....I don't really mind removing them so I can really clean them well.

 

not the rear bumper, but the rear left and right bumper BLADES, the long chromed pieces on each side of the car, those need to come off. you can access the drain bolts at the very bottom of each tank by pushing aside a plastic plug which is held in place from inside the tank's body panel. Only problem is you won't be able to get the plug back in place. I found a solution for that, plastic plugs that are pushed on from outside the panel.

once you remove the drain bolt, take a garden hose and spray water inside the tank through the filler cap until water comes out clean, then take a blower and blow air until tank is dry inside, let drip dry overnight, replace drain bolt with new seal and fill with gasoline. Seals are $ .90 cents each at SNG Barrat USA store. If you have a leak, you will only find out when the tank is full and system is pressurized.

 

Yea, this is a PITA job. I did it a couple weeks ago. Get the rear of the car on jack stands, pull up your socket set and wrenches, get on your back, and go to town. Hose everything with penetrating oil first - this is pretty much mandatory. I did it without any service manual and it turned out fine.

Also noteworthy - one of my tank leaks when it is about half full. I'm still working on that one.

They're very hard to work on when major components need replaced (compared to every other car on the road.)

This is largely true, but I think it's bad advice to not worry about brakes. My theory is that your brakes - all of them - should be working 100% as intended by the factory. If you have a failure on your front brake circuit, the rears may be all you have. Further, the problem with rear brakes is often that they seize and lock up, which does require major service.

 

a good flushing and bleeding, maybe twice over, (NO silicone fluid), will remove the sponginess from the brake pedal, assuming you don't have any deteriorated hoses or if the FRONT pads are at the end of their life; If the car brakes good after that, leave the rear brakes alone, "leave dirty dirty enough!".

again, I have owned my '84 XJ-6 since late 1989, that's 22 years of use and abuse, and I have never messed with the rear brakes in those 22 years, (other than flushing and bleeding the 4 calipers; the rear pads last forever because they do not work as hard as the fronts, this was taught to me by a factory-trained Jaguar mechanic who told me to "leave the rear brakes alone, if they need work, you will know by the emergency brake not holding the car".

The ONLY R E D F L A G W A R N I N G is that these cars weigh in excess of 3,200 lbs, so if you are working under the car in your house, make double sure that the car is supported very well over you, and you eliminate any chance of the car crushing you. A combination of hydraulic jack and jack stands and concrete blocks, one block under each tire, (but the tires NOT touching the blocks) is good insurance against a terrible accident. Also keep a phone with you at all times when working under the car.

 

Hope you guys have a strong stomach:



I was working on my 92 Eclipse years ago, trying to check out the condition of my axle shaft when the front driver side axle popped when shifting really hard in the rain one night. It ended up popping loose of the cv joint and wedging against the oil pan so I was trying to see if it was resting on it or jammed on it. I had forgotten to put the wheel under the sideskirt in case of a problem and when I was wiggling on the axle shaft a little, it kicked the jack out of the front and the entire suspension landed on my heel. The good news, didn't hurt one bit. The bad news, it totally sucked lol





There's some after shots. I walk totally fine, but it just really sucked, that's pretty much the gist of the story lol

 

an XJ-6 would have done a lot more damage, count your blessings, working under any car is always a risk, I know a few stories about XJ-6 owners who were killed when the car fell on them, don't want to go there.

 

If it was me, I'd leave this car well alone, unless you have a good dry heated garage and plenty of tools and time ! If the guy can't even get the speedo working what else has been left undone or ignored. Also what you call "surface rust" on the windscreen corner usually means a screen-out job and welding-in of new metal as this is a notorious problem area on these cars. And finally its a non-runner.

OK, price needs to reflect it is just a spare parts store at the moment.

 

A non runner? Did you not see the portion where I said he was going to charge the battery so we could drive it around his block to see the trans shift and all that?

 

Dependant on the test cruise and the price, it looks like a great base for a driver. Of course, I have a bias. My car is an 83 XJ6 that has been in my garage since 2001.

As mentioned, bits are readily available from David Boger, good used or NOS. Reasonable, prompt and David not only owns a couple, he is just a good guy.

Downsides. The 305 is a tad wimpy for a big old heavy Jaguar, but many do just fine with them. The speedo isssue is that the TH350 trans offers a mechanical drive and trhe Jaguar wants an electronic pulse. I seem to recall that JTR offers a way to do that. I think
Dakota digital does that as well.

What are the emision requirements in your jurisdiction? The car would not be registeed here. An FI car must receive an FI engine and trans no older than it's model year.

There is little or no residual pressure in the fuel system. There was as an FI car. but not as a carb'd car. The Jaguar/Bosch fuel pump produces far more pressure than any carb can handle. So check and see if a proper pump is installed or a sophisticated regulator.

As the carb version has no return requirement, it has probably been blanked off. Perhaps it is that and not the tanks that are leaking.

The valances behind the rear wheels have/had hard rubber plugs. This is how the drains are accessed. Removing them means certain destruction. Not a big deal although OEM is not available. None or substitutes are. Mine has none, I took them out to drain old gas.
But, the gasskets/orings are potential leak sources.

If the tanks are leaky, I'd just get good used ones from David.

A "modern classic". I love mine. But, it is repowered with a 94 Cadillac LT1. A wonderful combination. I call it English elegance with reliable American power. It's OD trans and the 2.88 rear ratio gives it really long freeway legs. And the 350 has the torque to pull it with ease.

A lot of jag guys to offer excellent advice on it.

Caveat, buy the best car your budget can afford. As the guy in the add says, "pay me now or pay me later".

 

I have substitute hole plugs that are pushed on from the outside, resolving the problem forever, they fit flush and prevent water ingress, and are removable for servicing when needed. If you want to order a pair, contact me by pm.

 

Brought her home tonight. It was dark outside when I finally got her back so wasn't able to do much. Was a blast trying to figure out what switches did what so I could roll the window down so I could hear the guy telling me if my wheels were straight or whatever when I went to back her off the trailer. Finally got that figured out, then took forever again to figure out where the headlight switch was and get all that going lol

Going to clear her up really well tomorrow and start inspecting the brake lines and such so I can start to narrow down the spongy pedal feel. Also, get to tune up the v8 a little.